Fresh Mountain Air
by Silver Lilac
Summary: Ranma and Akane's fathers ship them off to a cabin in the mountains for a week...Who knows what will happen!


Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma ½ or any of the characters (surprise).  
Author's Note: The characters may seem a little OC, but I just wrote this for fun. A rewrite of an older fic by me that was called a Strange Romance (also by me, of course, but I deleted it), my first real try at romance. Akane's thoughts are written in brackets like this {thought} while Ranma's are like this [thought].  
  
The sun slanted through the window and Akane sat up, rubbing her eyes groggily. "Ah, the joys of Saturday," she said out loud to no one in particular, than fell back into bed.   
The fathers had both been plotting late into the night, and had come up with what they thought to be a wonderful plan. Chuckling diabolically to themselves, they went to wake up their children and lead them down to breakfast.   
"Akane, Ranma, we have made reservations for the two of you at a private cottage by some hot springs in the mountains! Isn't that exciting?"   
Akane yawned groggily, "Not going."  
"Of course you are, dear! You're staying for a week, starting on Saturday. You should probably pack, since you're leaving tomorrow. Don't argue."  
~~~~|~~~~  
Nabiki had had some sort of burst of generosity and had offered to take Akane shopping for a new wardrobe for her trip and pay. So long, of course, as she got to help pick everything out.   
"Look at this dress 'Kane!" Nabiki held up a slinky red number. "I'll buy it for you!"  
"Nabiki….Please, you know I'd never wear it…"  
"Oh, don't be silly. Dad said the cottage was near hot springs, so you'll need a new swimsuit, too. Here's a cute one, you'll look great in it!" This time the she held up a white bikini which didn't look like it would cover any more skin then necessary. Grabbing outfits left and right, Nabiki eventually collected an assortment of clothes which looked nothing like any of Akane's normal outfits. Satisfied, she made her purchases and stuffed them in a bag, which she handed to Akane. Akane eyed the bad warily, having decided not to bring any of the outfits Nabiki picked out with her. They were probably just so Nabiki could sell them to Kuno or someone…  
~~~~|~~~~  
Saturday morning came all too quickly for Akane and her fiancée, and they were soon shipped off with their suitcases to an adorable cottage nestled in the mountains. Out the front door was a surprisingly hot hot spring which smelled strongly of sulfur, but all in all, the place was delightful. Akane dumped her suitcase on the bed in the bedroom, only to discover a few seconds later that it was the only bedroom.   
"I get the bedroom!"  
"No, me!"  
"We can't share!" Within a few seconds, Ranma was out the window, much to his dismay. Upon his return, he sighed in exasperation.  
"I'll take the futon in the living room…" Plopping his suit case on the futon, he turned to Akane, "Let's go swimming in the hot spring! It's pretty nice; I can swim and stay male!"  
"Dad so planned this," Akane muttered to herself, but out loud she replied "Okay, sure!"  
Ranma was ready quickly and hurried outside. He decided to wait for Akane on the roof, if only to freak her out.   
Inside, Akane opened her carefully packed suitcase, only to discover it wasn't the one she had packed at all, but full to the brim with the clothes Nabiki had bought. Sighing in exasperation, she resigned herself to her fate and slipped into the swim suit, pulling a large white t-shirt over it. Walking outside, she was relieved not to see Ranma anywhere. Ranma, meanwhile, saw her. [Did she forget her swimsuit? Seems like she would've said something…This should be interesting, I'll wait and see what happens]. Akane looked around when she reached the water, then slipped off the t-shirt and abandoned it besides the springs, then carefully waded in until the warm water was up to her waist. Relaxing, she sunk deeper into the warm water and finally sat down on the rock bottom, so only her head and neck were sticking out. Ranma, meanwhile, had nearly fallen off the roof when she had discarded her t-shirt. [K-k-kawaii…I can't believe Akane's wearing that! What's going on?]  
He casually hopped down from the roof, and waded into the water until he was out as far as Akane, "Hey." Akane looked at him, unsure of how to respond {Did he even notice my swimsuit? He probably still thinks of my as a macho chick, thinks I look ugly}. "Where were you?"  
"Roof. Duh."  
"Oh," Akane relaxed, and sat in the water next to him for a little, but then got up and waded out. Grabbing a towel she had left next to the spring, she dried herself off, unaware of Ranma watching her with more then just a friendly interest. [I can't like her that way…She's AKANE!] She walked inside and changed back into the clothes she had been wearing when they arrived. As it got darker out, both Ranma and Akane grew hungry, and proceeded to raid the fridge, which had been stocked with meals for their week. Curling up in their separate beds, the two went to sleep, tired and happy.  
~~~~|~~~~  
The sun rose bright and early, and Akane tumbled out of bed. She had decided to go for a hike today, whether Ranma wanted to her not. Taking a shower, she wrapped herself in a towel and hurried back to her bedroom, bumping into Ranma and dropping her towel in the process. Blushing furiously, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around herself, then slapped Ranma, "Hentai!" She hurried into the room and opened her suitcase, eyeing it's contents warily. With nothing else to wear, she finally choose the outfit that looked the plainest, a pair of extremely short baby blue shorts and a white tube top. She hurried outside, "Ranma, I'm going for a walk!"   
"Wait, can I come with? I need some exercise."   
Akane sighed in exasperation, "I don't see why you can't. Hurry up, I'm outside." Ranma dashed outside, then skidded to a stop in front of Akane, his eyes wide.   
"What, did you get a whole new wardrobe or something?"  
"Nabiki did it. Not my fault."   
"Oh…Ummm…" Ranma blushed and searched for words. "Well, let's get going, then?!" {Dang…I thought maybe….What was I thinking? Ranma would never say I was cute! I don't want him to!}  
  
Author's Note: More to come! What do you think? Reviews appreciated ^^ 


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